Organizations, such as automobile dealerships, building maintenance firms, real estate companies, and automotive garages manage numerous locked structures or vehicles. This typically requires coordination and control over the use of many keys among many key users. To protect the keys, a combination-type lock box can be used. The lock box is either secured to the lid of the structure or vehicle or to the window of the vehicle. Typically, lock boxes have a lid which can be removed by anyone having knowledge of the appropriate combination to gain access to the keys.
There are a number of considerations in designing a lock box for such businesses. It would be desirable to have a lock box that requires the master key to be in the box before the box can be reclosed. This would prevent the master key from being misplaced by the user. The lock box should be simple and relatively inexpensive in design. If the lock box were too expensive, it would not be economic for many applications. The lock box should be versatile and employable in a variety of applications without significant modification. The lock box should have a lid that cannot be removed during access to the master key. Misplacement of the lid would cause the entire lock box to be useless.